Numerous portable wireless communications devices exist on the market today. For example, portable cellular telephones have become almost ubiquitous. Many of the wireless communications devices rely primarily on the cellular telephone infrastructure in order to communicate with other wireless communications devices. Such is the case with basic cellular telephones. More sophisticated devices, known as smartphones, are frequently designed to also work with other wireless networks, such as “Wi-Fi” networks. However, smartphones also require a subscription to a cellular service provider, and the costs of such subscriptions have proven quite burdensome for many situations, particularly families with several children having cellular telephones.
Other portable electronic devices have been developed, such as the portable MP3 players. These devices have also evolved, and more sophisticated ones currently also allow video viewing and internet access through Wi-Fi connections, and therefore may be considered as wireless communications devices. Such devices are typically configured with an earphone jack for connecting with a corresponding plug of a small earpiece speaker (“earphone”).
Separately, a number of web-based “telephone” programs have been developed, such as the SKYPE brand program. These programs allow for a web-enabled device to place a telephone call without being initially connected to the telephone (including cellular telephone) network. That is, these programs allow for the local voice data signals for the device to be carried on a non-cellular network, e.g., the internet. For example, a user having a desktop computer connected only to the internet (by cables and/or Wi-Fi) to place a “call” to a phone number and thereafter have a conversation, and sometimes a video conference, with the party on the other end, even though the desktop computer is connected to the telecommunications network only through the internet connection. However, having to use a non-portable desktop computer clearly limits the utility of such an approach, as portability is highly desirable. Using a laptop computer is a slightly better alternative, but still highly cumbersome.
What is desired is the ability to have a phone-like experience, with call-out and optionally call-in ability, using a wireless communications system other than a cellular system, so as to be able to avoid the cellular phone subscription charges. One possible avenue is to use a non-cellular Wi-Fi enabled portable wireless communications device, such as the IPOD TOUCH brand product from Apple, Inc. However, such devices do not have microphones, and more importantly do not have a microphone and speaker separated from each other so that the microphone may be placed proximate a user's mouth and the speaker proximate the user's ear. As such, it is not possible, using the prior art, to use such devices and have a communications experience like using a phone conventional handset with its concomitant privacy. Accordingly, there remains a need for alternative approaches to wireless communications devices.